display
The dispute between NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) and the SPD opposition over a million dollar contract from the state government to the van Laack fashion company is entering a new round.
After Laschet's angry tirade against the SPD in front of the television cameras, SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty denied the head of government dignity and sovereignty on Thursday.
It was "unprofessional to abuse the opposition," said Kutschaty.
"The Prime Minister's fuse is extremely short right now."
Specifically, it is about an order from the NRW government for masks and smocks worth 38.5 million euros to the van Laack fashion company in April.
The SPD parliamentary group made a minor inquiry after it became known that Laschet's son Joe, a fashion blogger, had made contact with van Laack.
Laschet said he had called the CEO himself.
The Prime Minister had accused the SPD of defamation and shabbiness in a joint press conference with Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) on Tuesday.
The fight for the masks at the beginning of the corona pandemic was "brutal".
The opposition now wants to know more about possible offers from mask manufacturers.
Because there were obviously other offers besides van Laack.
Kutschaty reported on three companies from Mönchengladbach, Wuppertal and Dortmund, some of which had already turned to the State Chancellery or the Ministry of Health in March and offered mask and protective gown production.
"There seem to have been serious offers to which the state government has not responded," said Kutschaty.
The company from Mönchengladbach offered 80,000 masks - and received no answer.
display
Even more companies reported to the SPD that they said they could have delivered, said Kutschaty.
However, he has no overview of whether the state government has issued further orders during the period.
Nobody denies that quick decisions should have been made in the spring.
“That excuses a lot, but not everything.” As Prime Minister he would “never have thought of picking up the phone in such a situation,” said Kutschaty.
Rather, he would have made a corresponding offer to the government department.
Laschet had said that the state government had desperately looked for serious offers from NRW in the spring and "sore hands on the phone".
His son gave him the contact to van Laack.
He then called the CEO on a Sunday evening.
According to Kutschaty, the question arises whether van Laack would have made an offer without Laschet's call.
Laschet attacked the “integrity” of the SPD on Tuesday, “in order to distract attention from his own wrongdoing,” said Kutschaty.
Laschet pretends to be talking "about a purely private family matter".
In fact, it is about orders worth more than 40 million euros to a company.
"This is not a private matter."
display
The state police had also ordered two 1.25 million washable fabric masks each for a total of four million euros from van Laack.
In both cases, the award was legally justified with the urgency of the pandemic.
In the case of the police masks, van Laack had made the cheapest of seven offers, according to the Interior Ministry.
With a view to the press conference of Laschet and Spahn, who are running for the CDU federal chairmanship as a team, Kutschaty asked: “Who is actually in the lead when two people stand together and one of them has no control at all?” Laschet applies for the CDU - Federal Presidency, Spahn is to become his deputy in the event of Laschet's election.